-By Frank Hyland
Almost a year ago, we were treated to a political TV ad showing a man (intended to look like Congressman Paul Ryan) pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off the edge of a cliff. The eye-catching ad was meant to portray Ryan and the remainder of the GOP as villains for daring to even talk about reforming “entitlements,” including Social Security. The ad neglected to mention that Ryan and others had stated publicly and unequivocally that, under their plan, those already receiving Social Security would see absolutely no change in their benefits.
Fast forward to today and we are now seeing news that the so-called “payroll tax cut” trumpeted by the White House will be extended for another year. How can anyone possibly be against putting more money in the pockets of the American middle class? While loudly and repeatedly trumpeting the “giving” of $1,000.00 to members of the middle class, has anything been said about where the money is coming from? Do you know?
We’re all familiar with the saying, “Robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Over the course of the past year, the administration, with the consent of Congress, has performed a similar robbery. While the White House has had ample reason to cover up its thievery, for some reason Congress, including Republicans, has not exposed the theft. I’m not a lawyer but the absence of an outcry over the theft makes the GOP an accessory to the crime. The theft of which I write is the source of the funding of a payroll tax cut.
For those who’ve not focused any of the little boxes on their pay statement except for the “Net Total Amount,” the Payroll Tax historically has funded the Social Security program. You pay in now; you take out later. That is, if there is anything left to take out. For years, a variety of knowledgeable sources have warned that the Social Security Trust Fund would run out of money. This year’s warning comes from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a source trusted and quoted by both parties, and updates its own forecast of 2011. The Social Security Trust Fund, the CBO says, will be almost 800 billion dollars smaller by 2020 than had been believed. Stand by for even bigger drops in available funds, projected and actual. Why? –A reported ten thousand Baby Boomers retiring daily – which increases the payout rate of SS. The SS Trust Fund, by the way, is now expected to go completely broke by the year 2036.
The new deal for the continuation of the payroll tax cut will be paid for, news reports say, by requiring new federal workers to contribute a higher amount to their pension plans. Think about that a moment – that’s all it will take you, I’m sure. While much of America is clamoring for a reduction in the size of government and many college students loudly express their distaste for “Washington,” the money to pay for the extension of the payroll tax cut, we are told, will come from new federal employees. Feeling safer now? I thought not.
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Frank Hyland is a long-time Writer/Editor who has written for The New Media Alliance, and also for The Reality Check and has appeared weekly on Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Conservatism on Sunday evenings on Blog Talk Radio, along with Babe Huggett and Warner Todd Huston.